Public Art Registry
Nekú Netsí Kezhi (our home and native land)
Artwork has been removed.
Photo: Rachel Topham
Nekú netsí kezhi (our home and Native land) - photo by Rachel Topham
Nekú netsí kezhi (our home and Native land) - photo by Rachel Topham
Georgia & Granville Street
Canada Line - Vancouver City Centre Station
The artwork has been removed from this location.
Civic
2017
Two-dimensional artwork
No longer in place
City of Vancouver
Description of work

The City of Vancouver, as part of its Canada 150+ program, commissioned a series of six paint and print murals created by Indigenous artists and artist teams. The public art is part of the City’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation and strengthening of relations between Indigenous communities and Vancouverites.

The murals, banners and transparencies were commissioned as part of the City of Vancouver's commemoration of the sesquicentennial of Canada's confederation. Vancouver refocused the national celebration on its indigenous peoples and First Nations, who long precede confederation, and whose resurgence will continue long past the anniversary--hence "150+".

The public art program issued a call for murals in January 2017. The six successful applicant teams were reviewed and chosen by a selection panel of Indigenous artists and art professionals.

The projects were realized throughout the city centre, including projects at the central library, Queen Elizabeth Theatre and its plaza, the headhouse of a Canada Line station, a laneway on the Downtown Eastside, and the lot where the Kanata Fest and the Drum Is Calling Festival were held.

Works variously drew from Coast Salish, formline, and Woodland School forms, presented portraits mixing contemporary and traditional clothing and regalia, and collaged photographic images into abstracted compositions.

Commissioned in the spirit of Reconcilation, the project served to increase Indigenous visibility on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations now known as Vancouver.

Artist statement

Nekú netsí kezhi (our home and Native land) is a photomontage of images taken in the City of Vancouver, representing simplified northern First Nations formline design elements and beads. The image is an abstraction with interconnecting forms. The image is symbolic of the complications of reconciliation – the image does not create a complete form. The abstract nature is also meant to represent a celebration. Canada Day has always been a day to celebrate, as my mother was born on the centennial in
Vancouver. “Nekú netsí kezhi” translates to “our home and native land” in Northern Tutchone language – this is the language of my maternal grandmother. This part of the Canadian anthem is important as it recognizes the duality of home and land ownership.

Send us your feedback. Please tell us about your experience or wrong or missing information. 
Silk UI Framework Simulation Device
Resize the window to preview the page in target devices.
Open the settings to change the simulation device options.